Worm Squadron Episode IX: Ambush at Merc
by reagan64
Summary: Worm Squadron and their enemy the Termite Empire are faced with a new threat...Scarabs, only an unofficial truce can save the galaxy! Sequel to Earth Worm Rising.
1. The Story Continues

Grand Admiral Worm gazed out a window on the bridge of his flagship the Wormeara. His fleet had salvaged most of the Watana fleet, but he and his enemy the Worm Republic were in no shape to fight the even greater threat posed by Emperor Wanzanar and his Scarab armada.  
The battle of the Watana fleet had been a disaster.they had lost a Worm Destroyer and almost two hundred starfighters and bombers. It would take years to recover. Years he didn't have.  
He turned to Captain Welleon by the fire-control consoles.  
"Weapon systems ready?"  
"Yes Sir," came the reply. Worm grinned.  
"Let's teach those Scarabs not to mess with us," he paused. "Launch!" With that the Wormeara, along with her escort of ten Watana fleet Wormnaughts jumped. A modest force, but a force to reckon with.  
After a couple hours the taskforce stopped to make a fix on their position. Worm then turned his attention to one of the sensor consoles. He saw a horrifying sight.  
A single blip 22 clicks away. A Scarab Battlecruiser, the most powerful ship in the galaxy. He cocked his head to the port-side crew pit as he plotted his next move.  
"Launch Termite Interceptors, twelve degrees left!" he ordered. The fighters were launched as the massive capital ship came into view. Forty Scarab Gunships emerged from its hangar. The battle was on.  
After a few minutes the Interceptors were almost gone with little damage to the gunships, and a Wormnaught exploded in a ball of fire and metal.  
But the Wormeara and the remaining Wormnaughts had the cruiser cornered into a trap. It slung to its right, to be greeted by a barrage of Ion cannon and Turbolaser fire. It turned back and struck another Wormnaught which too exploded.  
Like a giant bear stung by a horde of bees, it died. A couple minutes later it was all over. 


	2. Surprises

"@%#$ it Azure Four, where the $%(# are you?" yelled Major Wasan Woore, his squadron was escorting a termite convoy of eleven Medium Freighters escorted by five Wormnaughts. His squadron had already lost three of its twelve Termite Avengers by the attacking W-Wings. Worm Squadron's W-Wings.  
  
"Okay, "Dirt paused over his radio, his worms had shot down three Avengers but they were still outnumbered nine to four. "Pick your target and Go!"  
He focused his twin laser cannons at an approaching Avenger and fired, taking out its shields. Five shots later the Avenger exploded into a ball of fire and dust. Dirt quickly took out another Avenger, just before he was badly hit.  
"Let's go home," he said as the W-Wings jumped into hyperspace.  
  
The Worm Cruiser Republic drifted through space on its way to the rendezvous point to meet the rest of the taskforce. Captain Wkrum was on the bridge gazing out to space.  
I hope this task force is big enough to handle Scarab ships. He thought. This could well be a disaster. He shuttered to think of it. He gazed at the empty sensor consoles and relaxed no ships in sight.  
This went on for a while. After a few hours the comm. officer approached Wkrum with a message.  
"It's from the fleet", sir, he said. "They're having difficulties; it's just us and the Repulse now."  
$@!!. Wkrum didn't have the time to think. The alarms started wailing.  
"What is it?" he yelled across the bridge. "Worm Destroyer, Sir," came the reply. Wkrum took a deep breath.  
"Distance?"  
"Twelve clicks."  
"Shields double front, concentrate all fire on the superstructure." The orders were carried about and a few minutes later the Worm Destroyer's bridge and rear deflector shields were down. Ten Turbolaser shots wrecked the bridge. The ship attempted to turn, but the Republic's Ion Cannons prevented that. The distance closed. Five clicks. Three clicks. One click. The ship grazed the Worm Cruiser's starboard side, knocking out four of her forty-two Turbolaser batteries. The Republic jumped before any reinforcements could arrive. 


	3. Briefings

"Hmmmm. Interesting."

"Sir?" Welleon asked his superior. Worm frowned.

          "An Imperial Worm Destroyer disabled by a single Worm Cruiser, at least the Super Worm Destroyer should be ready soon, perhaps in time for the Merc operation. Welleon looked disturbed.

          "Sir-?"

          "I suppose you were wondering, Captain whether I would relocate to the _Emperor's Revenge_? Worm said.

          "Your not?"

          "No, for all its size, the Super Worm Destroyer is relatively weak; it is four times larger than the _Wormeara,_ but only seventy-five percent more firepower. I am content to stay here."

          Worm and Welleon stared for a few minutes, Welleon broke the silence.

          "Oh," was all he could say.

          "And the progress of the Shocktrooper program?" asked Worm.

          "Good," replied Welleon.

          "And then we will trap them." The room went quiet when Emperor Wanzanar, leader of the Scarabs. "The _Judicator and my flagship the _Devil's Spear _will arrive and destroy the invaders. Questions?" No hands were raised. The meeting was adjourned and Wanzanar returned to the bridge._

          "Set course for _Merc_," he ordered.

  


          As the Worm Cruiser _Repulse glided through space, Dirt and his fellow Worms were discussing the upcoming battle over soil._

          "Our job is to protect the Worm Cruisers from any Gunships in the area, and then we'll escort another flight of W-Wings attacking one of the planet's seven shield generators so our ships can fire through." He paused. "Any questions?" he asked. A hand rose.

          "Fifteen W-Wings isn't exactly a threat to Scarab Gunships. We'll be creamed."

          "The _Republic _is carrying an additional two V-Wing squadrons to engage the Gunships, that is all _Wouruscant _can spare right now. "Dismissed."


	4. Let Sleeping Ships Die

The Termite Worm Destroyer Wormeara was forty-four light years away from the Scarab home-world of Merc when they came.  
"Scarab Gunships, straight ahead!" cried an officer manning the ship's sensor suite. Up ahead were twelve Scarab Gunships. They dove down and began firing their complement of Scarab Missiles at the Worm Destroyer's Turbolasers. Ten minutes later they destroyed the bottom shield generator. With the shields down the Wormeara was vulnerable to missiles. It was at this time that Grand Admiral Worm arrived at the bridge. He scowled.  
"#$#@! Deploy fighters, right full rudder; we'll cut'em off," he said calmly.  
Immediately three squadrons of Termite Interceptors greeted the incoming Scarabs. Although the three-to-one advantage the Interceptors were being creamed. Worm turned on an intercom and spoke into it calmly.  
"Squadron A-3, cut across bridge," he ordered.  
The Interceptors swung around, followed by the Scarab Gunships, who were treated to a lightshow of Turbolaser fire. After a few minutes the remaining five gunships jumped to lightspeed.  
The Wormeara continued towards Merc.  
  
The Worm Cruiser Repulse cruised at lightspeed uneventfully for several days. All the waiting was about to pay off.  
"Land, ho!" could be heard from the navigation station on the bridge. As the Repulse entered the orbit of Merc, they encountered a Wolan II Battlestation. The Republic arrived and the station was a wreck in minutes. Worm Squadron and their escortees were deployed…to be met by…  
"Scarab Gunships straight ahead!" yelled Dirt as 3 squadrons of Scarab Gunships entered the orbit of the planet, a ball of sand.  
The gunships quickly broke up into groups of three and proceeded on their runs, firing, turning, firing again.  
"I have one on my tail!" came the cry of a worm.  
"Roger…got'em!"  
After ten minutes all but two of the gunships were destroyed. But IT came.  
"Scarab Battlecruisers dead ahead!" Worm Four yelled while vaping a gunship. Sure enough two huge cylinders appeared in the distance and began firing. The Republic and the Repulse returned fire and the battle was on, and the two fleets began to duke it out.  
Turbolaser fire blazed across the sky as Worm Squadron and another twelve W-Wings from the Repulse attacked.  
"This is Brown Leader, we are starting our attack run." came a voice  
"Roger that Brown Leader," Dirt replied.  
Forty-eight torpedoes were fired, ten hit their target, the shield generator was destroyed, and the Repulse began tearing out the nearby air defense sites. All was going well…  
It was then that the Repulse exploded; it died in a double fireball. The Republic was being badly hit. It was looking bad.  
"All W-Wings follow me!" Dirt yelled as he led the eleven remaining W- Wings toward the nearer Battlecruiser, while the V-Wings kept the newly- deployed Scarab Gunships busy.  
"Worm Leader, this is the Republic; we found a weak spot, it's a shield generator inside the hangar bay, then hit the $*&@ bridge.  
"Roger that, Worm Squadron out."  
Dirt then led his squadron into the interior of the battlecruiser's hangar bay. They then emptied their missiles into the shield generator until it blew into a burst of fire. A Scarab Gunship appeared, but Worm Squadron was lucky and the other W-Wings vaped it, then turned their attention to the bridge, they concentrated their laser fire, but the bridge was too well protected.  
It was at this point that the situation was getting critical; only six W-Wings remained. The order was given to retreat. The Worm ships withdrew, pursued by a barrage of fire from the cruiser's weapons. The V- Wings were needed to defend Republic from the Scarab Gunships, and the W- Wings were out of missiles. Without missiles destroying the bridge would be impossible, and Turbolasers were not accurate enough to fire through the ship.  
Several minutes went by, with three W-Wings and five V-Wings defending her; the Republic was intact, but little damage was done to the enemy. Until a large black object appeared.  
"Holy @$(% it's a warship!" yelled Dirt as he dodged fire from a gunship he was pursuing.  
The Warship approached the cruiser at amazing speed for a vessel its size, almost twice as large as the ship was attacking. She approached until she was about two clicks away, began firing, than continued to approach. Closer and closer it became, then struck.  
The Super Worm Destroyer sliced through the cruiser (Which happened to be the Devil's Spear!) like a knife through butter. Two halves were sent flying in opposite directions, the first crashing into the planetary atmosphere, the other into the other cruiser which exploded in a giant ball of fire. Wanzanar was dead, and the heart of his fleet torn open.  
Worm Squadron, the V-Wings, and the Republic jumped. Just afterward five squadrons of Termite Assault Bombers, 60 in all, were launched and headed towards the planet. They were escorted by two squadrons of Termite Interceptors and a third of Avengers. The real battle had just begun. 


	5. A Fortress Without A Roof

The bombers descended into the atmosphere, releasing their missiles. Several Turbolaser batteries and another shield generator were destroyed. A flight of ten Scarab Gunships rose to greet them, but all were destroyed without lost.  
The bombers continued their way toward Scarab City, destroying the local army base and the city's power station, essentially shutting it down.  
Light fire was concentrated on the bombers but fifty-six of them made it through. The rest attacking factories and what was left of the local garrison. General Wovell needed complete air superiority for any land invasion to be possible. Assault Shuttles need protection.  
His fears were redundant for no new defenders rose to the defense of their planet. The bombers swooped down and destroyed two power generators, then damaged a hover train. The Avengers, carrying three torpedoes each, finished it off in no time. There was small-arms fire, but the shielding and thick armor on the Avengers and Bombers prevented any damage from being dealt. The Assault Shuttles landed without incident and deployed eight battalions of Termite Troopers, six Battle Razors, and two battalions of Shock Troopers. Armed with Assault Rifles and Grenade Launchers, they made quick work of the defending Scarabs.  
  
Worm Republic Intelligence could not believe the news that the Scarabs had finally been defeated. It was unbelievable that six to ten battalions of troops could defeat a planet. What could the Termites do next?  
If Scarab Battlecruisers could be defeated, what could Worm and his legions due to a rag-tag fleet of Frigates and Cruisers?  
If the reports of new Elite Schocktroopers were true, then all garrisons in the galaxy were of risk of capture or annihilation. The threat was not imaginary; it was real, very, very real. 


	6. Cuzco

"Blast!"  
Wallon Warrde was rather disturbed by the Termite Avengers and Assault Bombers chasing his ship the Wild Warrde, she was holding together, thanks to the improved shields, but she was still only a few missiles away from the Wild Warrde's Turbolasers was not.  
Warrde took the freighter into a dive to the left; two of the four Avengers were still on their tail and firing missiles like crazy. His guns barely scratched the thick skin and strong shields of the pursuing fighters.  
"Right Full Rudder!" he ordered, "Crazy Ivan!"  
The Wild Warrde slowed down, and then swung to starboard, it worked; he was able to close the gap before the Termites' missiles could arm themselves. Ten seconds later, they jumped for home.  
  
It was four days before the next engagement between Worm and Termite Forces; the Termites withdrew form Tallon IV and Zebes to consolidate their position, but had their eyes on Cuzco, in the Wendor system. For this end they would deploy a new kind of craft.  
"All Banshees in position," came a cry from the Port-side Crew pit on the Wormeara, the bridge was full of personnel preparing to attack.  
"Thank you, Lieutenant," said Welleon as he gave the order for the Banshees to take out the planet's six shield generators while they were down. With an advanced cloaking device, the Banshee was a formidable craft, more of a corvette than a fighter, they packed a punch, six of these craft exited the hangar of the Wormeara as she entered the planetary gravity- well. They headed for their targets, undetected by Worm radar.  
  
Not much happened in the officer's club at the Worm base. A couple Turbolasers guarded the entry and the Worms of Worm Squadron were taking some rest and relaxation. Nobody expected the air-raid siren to go off.  
It was a wail, soft, then louder, and the screech filled the room like a cathedral's pipe organ during mass. As he raced to his W-Wing, Dirt could not help but wonder why this base would be attacked; Cuzco had little strategic importance; Why?  
His question was soon answered when the shield generator by the base spontaneously exploded into a giant fireball. Dirt caught a small black speck in the corner of his eye, what could it be?  
  
'Sir, all Banshees have dispatched their objectives," said Captain Welleon as he reported to Worm on the Wormeara, now in orbit over Cuzco.  
"Thank you, Captain," he replied.  
The order was given and ten Assault Shuttles left the ship carrying seven battalions of Shocktroopers and three Battle Razors. They made quick work of the base's defenses until Worm Squadron arrived on the seen, one was hit by four torpedoes and disabled, a second was strafed fiercely, a W- Wing went down, then another, after about ten minutes the remaining Battle Razor drove off the defenders. All three of them. A pair of Medium Transports then fled the scene and jumped for Wouruscant.  
The base was completely leveled; the Battle Razors and the Shocktrooper grenade launchers and blasters made short work of all resistance and put the base to the sword, all in less than an hour. They departed triumphantly. 


	7. New Fighter

"If the Termites do have a new fighter, we cannot prove it until we get a picture or a sensor reading," councilor Weia explained.  
"And how do we get the proof?" asked Dirt.  
"I don't know..What we do know is that they are heavily cloaked."  
"How did they get the funds to build those!" exclaimed Dirt. "#$%^ it! How can we fight them?"  
"I'll put intelligence on it as soon as they are done with the debriefing, your debriefing."  
With that the debriefing ended and the war room went silent. It was a dark time for the Worm Republic. And with a Grand Admiral around, it was a time of exploitation.  
  
"Sir, all ships in position."  
"Thank you Captain," Worm replied.  
Worm sat in his command chair on the bridge of the Wormeara and contemplated the attack on Wouruscant. The battle was brewing everywhere.  
With two Wian III battlestations, the planet was well defended, but it was in the rear so capital ships would be elsewhere. Almost too good to be true.  
"Standby!" he ordered.  
Six Worm Destroyers and ten Wormnaughts arrived at the Worm capitol.  
It was a beautiful planet, despite being almost completely covered by cities. There were numerous freighters and yachts in orbit.  
Two of the Worm Destroyers concentrated their turbolaser and ion cannon fire on the battle stations; the stations went quickly. All the freighters and most of the yachts immediately scattered, many jumping blindly into hyperspace. But no Termite fire, ships, or troops could enter until the planet's shield was down. Luckily Worm was one step ahead of the defenders.  
"Launch the Banshees," he ordered and four cloaked ships left the Wormeara and made it before the shield could be raised.  
They proceeded to fire their complement of missiles, taking out three shield generators and a couple V-Wings "caught" on the ground. Sporadic turbolaser fire was encountered, but all of the corvettes escaped. The Firestorm, the Wudicator, and the Wormeara used the opportunity to raze bases and ion cannons. Not a single Worm fighter was able to get off the ground. Termite Assault Bombers leveled an LZ (for General Wovell) with impunity. 


	8. Trouble with a Capital 'T'

Sirens wailed as Princess Weia, Admiral Wackbar, and Won Wothma rushed to the war room.  
The room was packed with Worms. One quick look at the tactical readout screen told her that the situation was grim; both of the planet's battle stations were gone, and a good area had been leveled by bombs and turbolaser fire from the Worm Destroyers, supported by the Wormnaughts.  
"Princess."  
Weia looked to see Admiral Wackbar; he was gazing at the screen.  
"How is the fight?" Weia asked.  
"It looks pretty bad," Wackbar replied. "Six Worm Destroyers, we haven't seen that many since Wendor. Worm Squadron and several frigates are on their way, but it will take at least an hour."  
Weia grimaced. Battles had been lost in less time than that; the planet was completely defenseless. Assault Bombers roamed at will.  
Suddenly, the room began to shake, then the lights flickered, fortunately the palace had a backup generator. But the readout was gone.  
"#$@@! We're blind!" a Worm yelled. Panic ensued. Weia turned to Wackbar as she got up.  
"We need Worm Squadron now!"  
"Sorry, we have to hold out a little longer," Wackbar replied.  
"We don't have the time!"  
"Princess, if you have a better idea I'd like to hear it."  
  
"Captain, inform the General that he can land as soon as he is ready."  
"Yes, sir."  
Worm sat back and relaxed. It had been too easy. Even the Worm Republic knew better than leaving their capital undefended! But that was all in the past. The present was more important.  
Twelve blips appeared, carrying Wovell's troops to the surface. In minutes Wouruscant would be his. Nothing could go wrong. Nothing. 


	9. Worm Savior

"Okay Worms, throttle up."  
Dirt was worried. This would be the biggest fight since Wendor. Perhaps bigger. Worm Squadron had arrived just in time.  
Dirt saw a dozen or so Assault Shuttles, that meant Battle Razors and hover tanks. He fired a torpedo at the lead shuttle, damaged it, then finished it off with a second and a third. But enemy ships attacked.  
"Avengers at Point Five!" Dirt yelled as he focused his sights on an Avenger, hit it with a burst, and then went into evasive maneuvers trying to get in a favorable firing position and staying alive in the process.  
He finally finished it off with two direct hits; he turned towards the Worm Destroyers and emptied his missiles at another Assault Shuttle, bringing it down. Another Avenger fell to his guns before he was forced to retreat by heavy turbolaser fire. It was a marvelous day for Worm Squadron, they had routed the shuttles, Wouruscant was not in danger of ground invasion, and he had scored four kills. How long will his luck last?  
  
To be Continued... 


End file.
